The gala benefit for The Moth, a non-profit dedicated to the art of storytelling, featured music’s finest coming out to share in the night of elegance. Rapper Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels spoke that evening about the late Adam Yauch and how his group and the Beastie Boys pioneered rap after many thought they couldn’t do it. The Huffington Post has the full story:

At last night’s gala benefit for The Moth, a non-profit dedicated to the art of storytelling, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels shared a few memories of Adam “MCA” Yauch with The Huffington Post.

In the early 80s, McDaniels’ group, Run-D.M.C., and Yauch’s group, the Beastie Boys, were label-mates on Def Jam Records — and tag-team partners locked in combat with music’s status quo. Today, both groups are safely ensconced in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but it wasn’t always obvious that they were destined for immortality.

“You know, it was early, so people thought Run DMC’s a fad, Beasties is a fad, you know, all of this is a fad,” McDaniels said. “Run-D.M.C., we crossed over with the rock — but then it was Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys that took it to venues. We started playing Madison Square Garden, L.A. Coliseum, and all the critics were like, ‘There’s no way these black hip hop guys, these black B-boys, and these white punk rockers gonna go into these venues and anything good’s gonna happen, because there’s gonna be racial tension, fighting and gangs and all that.’ But it was no problem.”